According to the Census Bureau, about 100 million Americans weren’t working as of early October, and some of the reasons may be surprising.
Nearly half of the respondents are retirees, which is expected given the size of the Baby Boomer generation and the fact that many exited the labor market early during the pandemic. Another 12% were either ill or disabled with a Covid-related illness.
But the coronavirus is playing a big part in keeping workers out labor force, The survey implies that 5.6 million people are out of work because of COVID-19, whether they are sick themselves, caring for a sick person, or are concerned about contracting or spreading the coronavirus. Others also cite losing their jobs due to the pandemic.
The labor market remains tight this year, with inflation hitting a four-decade high and some parts of the economy freezing. Job openings, far from their peak, are still historically high. Businesses large and small have complained about labor shortages and difficulties retaining employees.
The census survey, conducted from October 5 to October 17, offers a glimpse into why many people stayed on the edge.
The survey shows that more than 6 million people did not have a job because they were caring for a child or elderly person, and another 6.8 million did not want to have a job. The lack of transportation was putting about 1.2 million workers on shore.
The equivalent of 32 million people who are not working depend on savings to meet their needs, which include withdrawals from retirement accounts or money from selling assets. The survey shows that another 26 million are using credit cards or loans and 12 million are borrowing from family for friends to meet their expenses.
In addition, more than 20 million people depend on some form of government transfer such as unemployment insurance payments, food stamps or government rental assistance.
The census is allowed to mark several categories.
To provide real-time data on families affected by the pandemic, the agency launched a household pulse survey after Covid-19 hit the US.
This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed.
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